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Murder on Painted Place
Upon the death of the legendary (but reclusive) portrait artist Arthur Cherrywood, six strangers receive an invitation to his remote island mansion known as Painted Place. There, his estate—including his priceless private art collection—will be bequeathed to the guests, who for the first time in history will be allowed to explore the secretive home and studio where the painter created so many of his iconic works.
But once the guests have arrived on Painted Place, a storm hits, stranding the group from shore. When morning finally breaks, someone is dead, and all signs point to murder. Together, the strangers find themselves trapped in a secluded mansion with a body, a missing will, and, worst of all, a killer.
Set on a remote island off the coast of Newfoundland, Murder on Painted Place is a modern twist on the classic noir whodunit—begging the age-old which one of us is the killer?
But once the guests have arrived on Painted Place, a storm hits, stranding the group from shore. When morning finally breaks, someone is dead, and all signs point to murder. Together, the strangers find themselves trapped in a secluded mansion with a body, a missing will, and, worst of all, a killer.
Set on a remote island off the coast of Newfoundland, Murder on Painted Place is a modern twist on the classic noir whodunit—begging the age-old which one of us is the killer?
- GenresCanada
Kindle Edition
Published October 18, 2024
10 people are currently reading
202 people want to read
About the author
Emily Hepditch
4 books249 followersEmily Hepditch is an award-winning emerging author from Mount Pearl, Newfoundland. A prolific writer since childhood, Emily’s first publication came in 2015 when her short story Lifelike was published by Nelson Education. Emily received her Bachelor of Arts (Honours) from Memorial University in 2020, where she studied linguistics, psychology, and criminology. Primarily she writes psychological thrillers that draw on principles of criminology to comment on contemporary issues in society. When she’s not writing novels, Emily is either working on an illustration, running through the park, or hiking the East Coast Trail.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 31 reviews
January 8, 2025
Really easy read with a great mix of characters. Well written cozy mystery, lots of twists to keep you thinking and wondering throughout, who done it.
I've read and loved all of Emily's novels and this one did not disappoint. Looking forward to reading more of her work.
I've read and loved all of Emily's novels and this one did not disappoint. Looking forward to reading more of her work.
April 13, 2025
This slow burn was very reminiscent of an Agatha Christie who dunnit novel. Written by an emergent young writer from Newfoundland it was a great, quick read.
November 19, 2024
2 1/2 It was meh. The story really didn’t get interesting until way after halfway through the book. Unlike her previous two books, this didn’t hold my attention. Disappointing after seeing the growth and progress from her first book to her second. I was looking forward to this one.
November 18, 2024
Ate and left no crumbs
May 26, 2025
I literally just finished the author’s sophomore book a couple of weeks ago and decided i needed to give this one a go right away too. I had expected a good story, based on the back of the book blurb I had picked it up for myself even before I had read Alone on the Trail.
Emily’s writing has improved with every book, but I was honestly blown away by this one. I love locked door mysteries and unreliable narrators, so it was of course a perfect choice for me, but I truly didn’t expect the leap in quality between her second book and this one.
Emily, you’re going on my auto buy list now.
If you’re looking for a book with Daisy Darker vibes, this is definitely it.
Emily’s writing has improved with every book, but I was honestly blown away by this one. I love locked door mysteries and unreliable narrators, so it was of course a perfect choice for me, but I truly didn’t expect the leap in quality between her second book and this one.
Emily, you’re going on my auto buy list now.
If you’re looking for a book with Daisy Darker vibes, this is definitely it.
March 13, 2025
3.25⭐️
If you like the genre of “Whodunnit?” or playing the game Clue, you should give this book a try! If you like supporting small town authors and supporting local, specifically Atlantic Canada, you should DEFINITELY give this book a try!
This book was fun! And I was actually a little surprised at the end…..
If you like the genre of “Whodunnit?” or playing the game Clue, you should give this book a try! If you like supporting small town authors and supporting local, specifically Atlantic Canada, you should DEFINITELY give this book a try!
This book was fun! And I was actually a little surprised at the end…..
November 12, 2024
Really enjoyed this book! I could use a bit more showing, as opposed to telling, but overall, the prose is wonderful! The setting and story were perfect for a rainy day read.
Read
January 3, 2026Emily, your efforts and imagination are remarkable. This one could have used one last thorough edit ✍️ but I enjoyed it nonetheless.
February 7, 2026
I enjoyed this book immensely. The twists and turns were compelling.
October 13, 2024
The twists in this book were so delicious that I literally inhaled it! Emily’s ability to craft a story with so many intriguing characters and so many red herrings is amazing! Another fantastic book by my very talented bestie! ❤️❤️
January 16, 2025
Hold the ponies.
Unless you’re willing to risk running into spoilers, you shouldn’t read the following scribbles.
Fair warning.
Murder on Painted Place [Flanker Press] is the story of an artist named Art who lives in a work of art filled with works of art.
Well, the story is not really about Arthur the artist because he’s dead and stowed away in his coffin inside a room inside — some would say — his greatest work of art: Painted Place.
Painted Place is a marvelous mansion that Art built on a rock, miles out in the North Atlantic Ocean, offshore from his home province, affectionally known as The Rock. Although a splendid spot, Painted Place is more than a little bit Gothic. It’s the shadowy kind of place in which Edgar Allan Poe might’ve have sat and plied his quill to scratch out a tale about a fowl of the Covidae family; the shadowy kind of place Vincent Price would’ve loved to visit.
I’m draw-latching.
Pressing on.
Half a dozen formally invited characters are at Painted Place to learn the contents of the dead painter’s will.
The boat that landed the guests on the beach isn’t halfway back to The Rock before a nasty North Atlantic storm starts to brew.
The scene is set. “A bunch of kooky strangers” is isolated on a rock that is little more than a reef. One’s a lawyer. (Why not? There’s a will in play for frig sake.) One’s an art critic who has denigrated Arthur and his art for a lifetime. One’s a little old schoolmarm. (Keep an eye on her.) One may or may not be Arthur’s nephew who, as nephews are wont to do, hopes to benefit from uncle’s will.
There’s a few more characters, including Molly the cook and Freddy the footman who — although not a bit like him — reminds me of Heathcliff.
The storm rages.
The lights go out.
A man’s body with its skull bashed in is discovered at the bottom of a staircase.
Whodunit?
Oops, I’ve failed to say that Painted Place’s housekeeper, Lucy Lockhart — a cranky woman whose distance cousin must’ve been Mrs. Danvers of Mandalay infamy — oversees the summoned company.
It isn’t her body at the foot of the stairs. But, hey, before the story ends, you never know …
The will — and there’s some question about if there really is a will — gets lost or perhaps stolen. All hands, each casting a suspicious eye on the others, commence searching Painted Place’s nooks and crannies. And secret passageways. (Wouldn’t be a creepy house yarn without a labyrinth of hidden passageways, eh b’ys?)
Since the lights are out, candles, kerosene lamps and lanterns guide the searchers through shadowy halls and up and down staircases. Don’t forget, at the foot of one staircase is the shrouded corpse with the knackered noggin.
Of course, one carcass is too few for a murder mystery. Soon a woman’s body is discovered. Drools of vomit and an empty flask reeking of turpentine suggest she has been poisoned.
Whodunnit?
I’m shifting gears.
Seriously. Emily Hepditch — whose storybook of only a few years ago caused me to wax nostalgic about my long-lost bay-boy’s worsted sweater — has written a beautiful murder yarn. (Yes, I say beautiful because even the book’s design — quality paper, coloured illustrations and parenthetic dabs of paint, cursive chapter headings of dark red ocher, stuff like that — makes me want to cuddle it.)
Murder on Painted Place is a sophisticated murder mystery that would cause Dame Aggie herself to sit up and take notice. It’s among the best novels of the genre that I’ve read in this, or any other, century.
Yay Emily.
Thank you for reading.
Unless you’re willing to risk running into spoilers, you shouldn’t read the following scribbles.
Fair warning.
Murder on Painted Place [Flanker Press] is the story of an artist named Art who lives in a work of art filled with works of art.
Well, the story is not really about Arthur the artist because he’s dead and stowed away in his coffin inside a room inside — some would say — his greatest work of art: Painted Place.
Painted Place is a marvelous mansion that Art built on a rock, miles out in the North Atlantic Ocean, offshore from his home province, affectionally known as The Rock. Although a splendid spot, Painted Place is more than a little bit Gothic. It’s the shadowy kind of place in which Edgar Allan Poe might’ve have sat and plied his quill to scratch out a tale about a fowl of the Covidae family; the shadowy kind of place Vincent Price would’ve loved to visit.
I’m draw-latching.
Pressing on.
Half a dozen formally invited characters are at Painted Place to learn the contents of the dead painter’s will.
The boat that landed the guests on the beach isn’t halfway back to The Rock before a nasty North Atlantic storm starts to brew.
The scene is set. “A bunch of kooky strangers” is isolated on a rock that is little more than a reef. One’s a lawyer. (Why not? There’s a will in play for frig sake.) One’s an art critic who has denigrated Arthur and his art for a lifetime. One’s a little old schoolmarm. (Keep an eye on her.) One may or may not be Arthur’s nephew who, as nephews are wont to do, hopes to benefit from uncle’s will.
There’s a few more characters, including Molly the cook and Freddy the footman who — although not a bit like him — reminds me of Heathcliff.
The storm rages.
The lights go out.
A man’s body with its skull bashed in is discovered at the bottom of a staircase.
Whodunit?
Oops, I’ve failed to say that Painted Place’s housekeeper, Lucy Lockhart — a cranky woman whose distance cousin must’ve been Mrs. Danvers of Mandalay infamy — oversees the summoned company.
It isn’t her body at the foot of the stairs. But, hey, before the story ends, you never know …
The will — and there’s some question about if there really is a will — gets lost or perhaps stolen. All hands, each casting a suspicious eye on the others, commence searching Painted Place’s nooks and crannies. And secret passageways. (Wouldn’t be a creepy house yarn without a labyrinth of hidden passageways, eh b’ys?)
Since the lights are out, candles, kerosene lamps and lanterns guide the searchers through shadowy halls and up and down staircases. Don’t forget, at the foot of one staircase is the shrouded corpse with the knackered noggin.
Of course, one carcass is too few for a murder mystery. Soon a woman’s body is discovered. Drools of vomit and an empty flask reeking of turpentine suggest she has been poisoned.
Whodunnit?
I’m shifting gears.
Seriously. Emily Hepditch — whose storybook of only a few years ago caused me to wax nostalgic about my long-lost bay-boy’s worsted sweater — has written a beautiful murder yarn. (Yes, I say beautiful because even the book’s design — quality paper, coloured illustrations and parenthetic dabs of paint, cursive chapter headings of dark red ocher, stuff like that — makes me want to cuddle it.)
Murder on Painted Place is a sophisticated murder mystery that would cause Dame Aggie herself to sit up and take notice. It’s among the best novels of the genre that I’ve read in this, or any other, century.
Yay Emily.
Thank you for reading.
March 21, 2025
4.5!
I've been really loving locked door, whodunit mysteries lately so when I found one written by a local Newfoundland author I knew I had to pick it up. And it didn't disappoint!
The atmosphere in this was incredible. It takes place on a small island, in a large house, in the middle of a hurricane. The house is twisty and confusing, with areas off-limits and it made me even more suspicious of everything that was happening.
The characters don't know each other, and a great job is done of making you suspicious of each and every one of them. They're all pretentious, secretive, and moody, and I was questioning EVERYTHING everyone said or done.
There were so many twists and turns and I didn't see any of them coming. I was absolutely in shock at every revelation and just when I thought I had everything figured out, something else was thrown at me to take me by surprise.
I do think the ending was a little abrupt, I would have liked maybe one more chapter to just wrap things up a little. But it also kind of worked, so I wasn't too mad about it. It was a perfect quick read that had me on the edge of my seat the entire time.
I've been really loving locked door, whodunit mysteries lately so when I found one written by a local Newfoundland author I knew I had to pick it up. And it didn't disappoint!
The atmosphere in this was incredible. It takes place on a small island, in a large house, in the middle of a hurricane. The house is twisty and confusing, with areas off-limits and it made me even more suspicious of everything that was happening.
The characters don't know each other, and a great job is done of making you suspicious of each and every one of them. They're all pretentious, secretive, and moody, and I was questioning EVERYTHING everyone said or done.
There were so many twists and turns and I didn't see any of them coming. I was absolutely in shock at every revelation and just when I thought I had everything figured out, something else was thrown at me to take me by surprise.
I do think the ending was a little abrupt, I would have liked maybe one more chapter to just wrap things up a little. But it also kind of worked, so I wasn't too mad about it. It was a perfect quick read that had me on the edge of my seat the entire time.
January 15, 2025
Murder on Painted Place, had me feeling a lot of Agatha Christie (who I love) feels. A remote island off the coast of Newfoundland in the house of the now deceased, reclusive portrait artist is the setting for this one. A storm of epic proportions both inside and outside. A crumbling, secluded mansion, a body, a missing will and a killer. It couldn't be more atmospheric.
A cast of characters/strangers? so interwoven in background and unseen connections that with each unravelling and revelation, Emily keeps her reader guessing in true murder mystery style.
The pacing and ending make this a great snuggle up by the fire winter day read.
Emily has a made a mark with this new twist on classic noir whodunit.
A cast of characters/strangers? so interwoven in background and unseen connections that with each unravelling and revelation, Emily keeps her reader guessing in true murder mystery style.
The pacing and ending make this a great snuggle up by the fire winter day read.
Emily has a made a mark with this new twist on classic noir whodunit.
February 27, 2025
⭐️ I was really looking forward to this, but it was a complete miss. While “whodunnit” mysteries can be fun, this one was so slow and boring. There was so, so much backstory and way too much telling and hardly any actual action going on. I didn’t even care who did what by halfway through. I ended up skimming the rest because the book was due back at the library. Alone on the Trail was such an amazing book. I hope she can get back to writing like that. #murderonpaintedplace #emilyhepditch #mysterybooks #books #booksbooksbooks #bookstagram #readmorebooks #ilovebooks📚
August 28, 2025
2.5/5
I had high hopes for this book after reading The Woman in The Attic (which I thoroughly enjoyed) but it fell short.
Painted Place could have been at least 100 pages shorter in all honesty. A lot of the descriptions and character descriptions just felt like an information dump that hadn’t been sorted through yet and somehow made the final draft.
Finally started to get a bit interesting after the halfway point but it was still only a mediocre whodunnit mystery.
I had high hopes for this book after reading The Woman in The Attic (which I thoroughly enjoyed) but it fell short.
Painted Place could have been at least 100 pages shorter in all honesty. A lot of the descriptions and character descriptions just felt like an information dump that hadn’t been sorted through yet and somehow made the final draft.
Finally started to get a bit interesting after the halfway point but it was still only a mediocre whodunnit mystery.
January 8, 2026
If you love a quick whodunnit and enjoy playing detective (hello, Clue vibes 🕵️♀️), this one might be up your alley. It took me a bit to keep all the characters straight at the start, so the beginning felt a little slow. Once the murders kicked in, though, the pace picked up and the guessing game began. Sadly, I saw the ending coming before the final reveal.
Not a favorite, not a flop—just a solid mystery read.
⭐⭐⭐ (3 stars)
Not a favorite, not a flop—just a solid mystery read.
⭐⭐⭐ (3 stars)
April 24, 2025
First of all I just wanna say the publisher Flanker Press does not disappoint
This book was great and the author does shave the tendency to write really good and Intriguing books
I really enjoyed this book the story the environment everything !
Great read for anyone
Highly recommend
Read While at work on Tanker Damia Desgagnes ⚓️
This book was great and the author does shave the tendency to write really good and Intriguing books
I really enjoyed this book the story the environment everything !
Great read for anyone
Highly recommend
Read While at work on Tanker Damia Desgagnes ⚓️
June 7, 2025
I enjoyed this book tremendously. The wonderful way it was written, the intrigue and the cast of characters made it feel like I was in an actual game of clue.
Invited to a secluded mansion in Newfoundland due to the death announcement of its owner, the tales weaved throughout made for a mysterious adventure of epic fun.
Invited to a secluded mansion in Newfoundland due to the death announcement of its owner, the tales weaved throughout made for a mysterious adventure of epic fun.
February 21, 2025
I was gifted this book and always appreciate NL literature after so many years living away. I thought this book was excellent and stands in its own at a fun little mystery that just happens to be set in a locale that means so much to me. Highly recommended.
February 28, 2025
Loved this book! It sets up in a "Clue" whodunnit type setting. The characters are all very different. You slowly get to know each one throughout the book, based on their relationships with each other.
Highly recommend reading this book!
Highly recommend reading this book!
May 26, 2025
3.9/5.0
Lucy felt an ironic loneliness whenever she spent time among the company of others.
That was what love did, if you let it. No matter the form or substance it took, it could warp you into terrible shapes.
Lucy felt an ironic loneliness whenever she spent time among the company of others.
That was what love did, if you let it. No matter the form or substance it took, it could warp you into terrible shapes.
September 27, 2025
This was a really good whodunnit novel. It kept me wondering the entire time. I did find it needed a bit of tightening up in the editing, and found the ending a bit more abrupt than necessary. But overall, I really enjoyed this read.
January 21, 2025
Emily Hepditch weaves a wonderful tale …. Really enjoyed this one.
January 27, 2025
Although not a bad book, I didn't enjoy it as much as The Woman in the Attic or Alone on the trail!
January 27, 2025
Great book! Emily’s writing just keeps getting better and better!
May 22, 2025
A well written who done it with suspense, twists and turns. Love that it took place locally. Did have a little trouble keeping track of the various characters.
January 8, 2026
A modern day clue! Some of the character twists really surprised me and I enjoyed the way the parts were written. 4 stars because Alone on the Trail is my 5 star book by this author.
January 21, 2026
- first half 2/5 second half 4/5
- sad, but appropriate ending
- impossible to not appreciate and sympathize with the antagonist
- writing could’ve been stronger for story to flow better
- sad, but appropriate ending
- impossible to not appreciate and sympathize with the antagonist
- writing could’ve been stronger for story to flow better
November 19, 2024
This book is an incredible read - and I’m not just saying that because I know the author. It kept me wanting more and was extremely satisfying to watch how the story unraveled.
This is a type of book that makes you wish you could experience it for the first time again.
Highly recommend to any whodunit fans!
This is a type of book that makes you wish you could experience it for the first time again.
Highly recommend to any whodunit fans!
Displaying 1 - 30 of 31 reviews